The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher

We spent today on a Galway Tours trip to the Burren National Park and the Cliffs of Moher with our very informative guide and bus driver, Garry. We found it very relaxing to be driven around by someone else for a change rather than navigating ourselves.

Our first stop was at Kinvara for photos of Dunguaire Castle and some very picturesque houses with thatched roofs.

We stopped at Ballyvaughan to stretch our legs and shared a warming Irish coffee, then on to the Ballyalban earthen ring fort. This was the site of a settlement 3,000 years ago but as we walked around the top of the ring and looked at the ditch below it was easy to imagine a village there, safe within its circle.

The top of the ring - very atmospheric

Further on we visited a wedge tomb (dated to 2500 BC), close to where a gold collar (1000 BC) was found in 1932. Then on to the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a chamber in a cairn of stacked stones where the bones of 22 adults and 6 children were found, which have been dated to 4900 -  2000 BC. Our last stop before lunch at O'Connors Pub in Doolin was Kilfenora to see some twelfth century Celtic crosses.

The Poulnabrone Dolmen

After lunch we continued on through the Burren which is 'a unique limestone landscape' and 'home to over 70% of Ireland's native flora'. The terrain is largely rugged rocky pavements with clints (paving stones) and grykes (the crevices between the stones where much of the flora grows).

Clints and grykes in the Burren

Finally we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland's spectacular coastline on the edge of the Atlantic. The view of cliffs receding into the distance was amazing! We followed the coastal path to O'Brien's Tower on the top of the hill where the view was the best and then back down to the Visitors Centre. Along the way there were lots of warnings about not moving off the path since the winds are often strong enough to blow a person right over the edge. We were very lucky that the weather held long enough for us to enjoy the view since it started to rain and the mist had closed in by the time we left.

The drive back to Galway followed the coast, with just one stop at Ballyreen to see some limestone cliffs in the rain. Apart from that, the highlight was a 'dancing dog' who is in the habit of responding to toots from passing buses by madly running around in circles. And then, of course, there were Garry's tales about the magical power of fairy trees and of rocks that looked like a leprachaun's face - all very Irish!